2025 | 2D Animation | Short FIlm

Written & Directed By: Utkarsh Bankar

Guide: Pramod Marshal, Vaibhav Kumaresh

Sound & Music: Kashish Mandia

A young Warli girl discovers a mysterious map that leads her through Mumbai to a magical forest, where she uncovers her people's forgotten history and finds the strength to reclaim it. .

This story is focused on the controversial cutting of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey forest in 2014. This event adversely impacted ecological balance, Mumbai’s air quality, local flora and fauna, and tribal communities.

Characters: Hirva

Hirva, a 6-year-old Warli girl, was designed to embody innocence, curiosity, and quiet bravery, with a touch of mischief that drives her journey of discovery.

THE GRANDMOTHER

The grandmother plays a pivotal role in the story as its guide and keeper of memory. She was designed as an aged, weathered figure—struggling to breathe in a polluted future, yet unwavering in her beliefs and connection to her heritage.

THE LEOPARD

Aarey’s leopards, revered by local tribes as forest protectors, inspired the film’s leopard God—a semi-realistic, mystical figure adorned with Warli patterns. While worshipped in natural form, the God’s scarred, fierce look reflects real-life conflict, like attacks by leopard C-32, symbolizing the forest’s pain.

STORYBOARD

The main objective of the storyboarding phase was to seamlessly connect all the visuals across different time spans and art styles with the help of smooth transitions.

WORLD BUILDING

World-building balanced cultural authenticity with a futuristic tone, drawing from Mumbai’s skyline, crowded slums, and the dense Aarey Forest to reflect themes of displacement, survival, and the city’s fragile bond with nature.